Syrian air strikes in northwest kill more than 40 - monitoring group

BEIRUT, Sept 22 (Reuters) - At least 42 civilians including
women and children have been killed in Syrian government air
strikes on rebel-held territory in the country's northwest, a
monitoring group said on Monday.

The attacks hit territory in and around the towns of Saraqeb
and Ehsim in Idlib province on Sunday, the Britain-based Syrian
Observatory for Human Rights said.

One struck an area outside Saraqeb where people who had fled
earlier assaults on the town itself were taking shelter, the
Observatory said.

It was not immediately clear what the attacks were targeting
but an activist in the area said there were no rebel fighters
near the positions they struck.

The Observatory, which monitors violence through a network
of sources in Syria, said at least 16 children and 11 women were
among the dead. At least 17 people from one family were also
killed, it added.

One activist in Saraqeb said people had been fleeing to
nearby farmland to escape the bombardment, but on Sunday
warplanes also struck the farms which had been "packed with
familes".

"This is what led to the high number of deaths," the
activist said.

The Observatory said the death toll from the strikes was
expected to rise because many people were still in critical
condition.
(Reporting by Alexander Dziadosz; Editing by Andrew Heavens)